Scotts Miracle Grow is Investing Heavily in the Future of Legal Marijuana

A few weeks ago we told you about the first major U.S. corporation to enter the legal marijuana market: Microsoft, with their entry into the marijuana retailer software business. Now another huge company is betting heavily on the future of the legal cannabis industry.

Lawn and garden behemoth Scotts Miracle-Gro is using a subsidiary company – Hawthorne Gardening Co. – to buy smaller companies that specialize in hydroponic equipment. In this way they hope to position themselves to take advantage of the coming marijuana growing boom.

“Invest, like, half a billion in the pot business,” Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn said. “It is the biggest thing I’ve ever seen in lawn and garden.”

Hawthorne has scooped up several companies and now plans on transitioning to other investment opportunities. Hagedorn was sold on legal marijuana growing equipment after he visited 2 home improvement stores in Washington and talked to the manager of one. It seems many people were coming in and asking for growing equipment after the state legalized recreational marijuana.

Microsoft and Scotts are just the beginning. Over the next several years don’t be surprised to hear dozens of large corporations entering the legal cannabis industry in some way or another. With the U.S. economy continuing to struggle, many companies will see cannabis as an opportunity to branch out and find new customers.

And as more companies take the plunge, it will cause even more to consider the industry and possibly follow suit. In a few years it may become commonplace to hear the names of big corporations brought up when talking about the legal marijuana industry.

Many fear this development, and they are right to do so. But big corporations have their place in every industry and as long as regulations are kept to a minimum and smaller companies aren’t barred from entry into the market, all companies can co-exist in a rapidly expanding industry.